Evaporator



F. WITTE.

EVAPORAOR. APPLxc/mou mm JuLY'I. 1919.

Patend 29, 19241.

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INVENTOR Mnz ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

FELIX WITTE, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSGNOR TO ZAREMBA COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

EVAPORATOR.

Application filed July 1, 1919.

To all 'whom t may Concern Be it lznown that l, FELIX WITTE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Evaporators; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in evaporators wherein. liquids are subjected to the. heat of steam or vapors conveyed by tubes in heat interchanging relation with the liquid. In such evaporators the tubes are generally arranged horizontally and terminate in steam chests located at opposite sides of the evaporator shell. The cover plates of the steam chests are subjected to considerable stress and are commonly of comparatively heavy construction, when steam at high pressure is employed.

It is the object of my present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive reinforcement for steam chest cover plates, against external and internal pressure, thereby permitting the use of cover plates of relatively light weight without involving danger of rupture thereof under pressure.

Other objects and advantages of my in vention will be apparent as it is better understood by reference to the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, illustrating the preferred embodiment thereof, in which,

Figure l. is a diagrammatic section of an evaporator to which the present invention. may be applied;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged. front elevation of one of the steam chests showing various forms of packing plates;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental vertical section on a larger 'scale illustrating another form of packing plate; and' Fig. l is a detail sectional view illustrating the application of my invention to the evaporator.

`Evaporators of the character referred to are provided with a nest of tubes supported in tube sheets and communicating at oppo- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 29, 1921.

sei-iai No. 308,055.

site ends with steam chests, one chest having an inlet for steam or vapor and the other an outlet for the condensate. Suitable packing is provided about the ends of the tubes to prevent leakage of steam or vapor into the evaporating chamber. The steam chests are closed by cover plates which are usually unsupported except at the edges and are, therefore, liable to rupture under high pressures unless they are of particularly rigid construction.

l have discovered that in the construction of evaporators, relatively light cover plates for the steam chests may be employed, by providing a number of supports distributed uniformly over the area of the cover plates and connecting the latter to the tube sheets. Specifically, l have found it desirable to eX- tend the bolts, which are employed to hold the packing plates and thus retain the tube packing in place, and to connect these bolts to the cover plates. By employing this construction, pressure applied to the cover plates is distributed, through the bolts, to the tube sheets and relatively high pressures may be employed in the steam chests without danger of rupturing the cover plates.

ln the drawingl have illustrated the application of my invention to a conventional form. of evaporator shown in 1 as comprising a cylindrical shell. l having an inlet 2 for the liquid. The lower portion of the shell is intended to be filled with liquid while the upper portion constitutes a vapor space and is provided. with an outlet 3 for the vapor, plurality of tubes i is arranged transversely of the lower portion of the shell l and terminate in tube sheets 5 which. are secured to the shell by bolts 6. The tube sheets form one wall of each of the steam chests 7 and are provided with flanged extensions S to support the cover plates 9, which are fastened thereto by bolts l0, gaskets ll. being disposed between the cover plates and the flanges of the extensions 8 to insure a tight joint.

A packing il is disposed about the end of each tube in the openings provided therefor in the tube sheets and anA annular gasket l2 is forced against each packing by a packing plate 13. The packing plates may be of any suitable form and in Fig. 2 of the drawing are illustrated as rectangular and arranged to engage the packing of four or six tubes. ln Fig. 4 the packing plates are triangular in form to engage the packing of three tubes. When triangular packing plates are employed they are preferably arranged in the manner shown in Fig. e. The particular form of the packing plates is not, however, material in the present invention.

The tube sheets 5 are provided with threaded sockets 14 to receive bolts 15. Ordinary bolts are commonly employed for the purpose of holding the packing plates 13 in position and compressing the packing 11 to insure tight joints about the ends of the tubes. ln accordance with my invention, however, I have substituted the bolts 15 which extend through apertures in the packing plates 13 and through corresponding apertures 16 in the cover plates 9. Nuts 17 are mounted on the bolts 15 and adapted to engage the packing plates 13 to force the latter tou/ard the tube sheets 5 and thereby compress the packing 11. Nuts 18 are disposed upon the bolts 15 for engagement with the inner faces of the cover plates 9 and caps 19 engage the projecting ends of the bolts and are seated against gaskets 2O to prevent the escape of steam through the openings in the cover plates.

When the evaporator is assembled the bolts 15 are arranged in their sockets and the nuts 17 are tightened to force the packing plates 13 toward the tube sheets thus compressing the packing 11. The nuts 18 are mounted on the bolts 15 and are arranged to engage the inner surfaces of the cover plates. The latter are then secured in place by the bolts l() and the caps 19 are mounted on the projecting ends Lof the bolts 15. The bolts 15, as will be readily appreciated. form supports for the cover plates which transfer stresses applied to the cover plates uniformly to the tube sheets. rllhus materially higher pressures may be employed with relatively light cover plates. The nuts 18 support the cover plates when a high vacuum is used and the external pressure is correspondingly increased. The nuts 18 also provide a rigid backing for the 'plates 9 in clamping the gaskets 20.

rlhe details of the improved structure are relatively simple, require little change in evaporator structures as heretofore known andV used but result in a considerable saving of material and a marked increase in the factor of safety, permitting relatively lighter construction or the employment of higher pressure than with evaporators now in use. For example, the only change required to embody my invention in a common type of evaporator is the substitution of cover plates, having the necessary apertures, and bolts similar to those illustrated in the drawing, for the cover plates and the packing plate fastening bolts of the evaporator.

Obviously the details of the structure may be modified Without departing from Jiihe invention and various changes may bc made Within the scope of the accompanying` claims Without sacrificing any of the material. advantages as hereinbefore set forth.

l claim:

1. A steam chest for evaporators and the like, comprising connected tube sheet and cover plate, the tube sheet having apertures for the passage of the tube ends therethrough; packing plates vvithin the chest and associated With the tube ends; packing interposed between the packing plates and the tube sheet; and means secured to the tube sheet for tightening the packing` plates against the packing and for staying the cover plate from opposite sides.

Q. A steam chest for evaporators, and the like, comprising connected tube sheet and cover plate, the tube sheet having apertures for the passage of the tube ends therethrough; packing plates within the chest and associated with the tube ends; packing interposed between the packing plates and the tube sheet; and bolts secured to the tube sheet and having nuts for tightening the packing plates against the packing and for staying the cover plate.

A steam chest for evaporators and the lire,l comprising` connected tube sheet and cover plate, the tube sheet having apertures for the passage of the tube ends therethrough; and sockets arranged between said aperturesa and the cover plate having openings arranged in line with the sockets in the tube sheet; packing plates Within the steam chest having apertures for the reception of the tube ends in line with the apertures in the tube sheet, and central openings in line With the sockets and openings in the tube sheet and cover plate; packing interposed between the tube sheet and the packing plates; and devices mounted in the sockets in the tube sheet and projecting through the alining openings in the packing plates and the cover plate for tightening the packing plates against the pa king and for staying the cover plate.

4. A steam chest for evaporators and the like, comprising connected tube sheet and cover plate, the tube sheet having apertures for the passage of the tube ends therethrough, and sockets arranged between said apertures, and the cover plate having openings arranged in line with the sockets in the tube sheet; packing plates Within the steam chest having apertures for the reception of the tube ends in line with the apertures in the tube sheet, and central openings in line with the sockets and openings in the tube sheet and cover plate; packing interposed between the tube sheet and the packing platee; threaded bolts ttecl at their inner ende n the Sockets in the tube Sheet and proj eating outwardly through the alnng openings in the packing plates and the cover plate; and nuts threaded on said bolts and arranged for engagement with the opposite faces of the paoling plates and eover plate and with the outer tace-of the cover plate to 10 tighten the packing plates against the paelv ingand to stay the Cover plate.

n testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FELIX WITTE. 

